Faking Falsies: The Ultimate Guide to Amazing (and Real) Lashes!

I have strangers stop me in the store to ask what mascara I’m using. People ask me what my trick is for applying false eye lashes. Really. You know your lashes look good when people are hunting you down in the produce department.

I wasn’t born with “great” lashes. I do have big brown eyes (that definitely helps call attention to things), but my lashes are naturally pretty average. I’ve tried false lashes, but I don’t have time for that every day, and I want that big eye and tons of lashes look every day. So, I’ve collected a huge number of mascara tips to help me achieve this look!

There really isn’t a “best mascara” for great lashes. Instead, there are a bunch of mascaras that produce long and lush eye lashes, but when combined with great mascara application tips… yes, then you get the results that have people asking you for which mascara you are wearing over avocados.

Choose your formula1. I should start off by saying that you don’t actually need 1 formula. You need two. Two good mascaras. Unless I’m doing product testing, I always layer two mascaras. If you have short lashes, you could use a lengthening or even fiber mascara. If you have thin lashes, go for volume. Combine a volume and a lengthening mascara. (I just don’t recommend using a “tube” mascara when layering.) Something seems to happen when you use 2 mascaras together, and I swear the results are much better, they synergize.

2. Consider the brush! This makes as much of an impact on your mascara as the mascara formula. A typical nylon brush can lead to clumping. If the bristles are particularly close it can be almost impossible to get product on to the lashes. I like to make sure that at least one of my mascaras has a molded plastic brush, which helps me to pull my lashes apart easily. I use that as my top mascara. My preferred mascara for this is CoverGirl’s LashBlast Fusion.

3. Pick the correct shade. A lot of people say you should wear brown for every day, and black for “good”. This is stupid to me, mostly because I have black lashes. When I wear brown, it looks strange. It’s obvious. If you have black lashes (like me) you should only wear black. Maybe black-brown if it is a very dark formula. If you have blond lashes, you should wear brown. Black will look harsh, save it for special occasions or a smoky eye. All of those other “fun” shades, like plum, navy, etc? They are fun but can be hard to pull off correctly, use at your own risk. I don’t use them every day and I don’t think they really have a place in the workplace unless they’re almost black/brown and very subtle.

4. Need a waterproof formula? There are some great ones out there, but keep in mind that they are often hard to remove. Consider using a waterproofing topcoat such as Anastasia’s Lash Genius, which waterproofs but is much easier to get off before bed.

Prepare Your Lashes: The Curler5. If you are wearing mascara, you definitely need to use a curler. The 30 seconds you take to curl your lashes will be well worth the effort. There are a ton of curlers on the market, and you don’t need to spend a lot. Look for one that has a hard pad, if it is too soft instead of curling the lash you’ll get a bend. A bend is bad. Look for hard. There are also some brands that sell replacement pads, make sure you buy one of those. Or you’ll have to keep replacing the entire thing. I use a Tweezerman curler, in case you’re curious.

6. Heat: Yes, you can heat up your curler. I recommend only doing this if you have a really hard time getting your lashes to curl, or if the curl goes away quickly despite using a curling mascara. Just a quick burst of “hot” from your blow dryer is all you need. Seriously, no one wants burns on their lids.

7. More about heat: All of those “amazing heating lash curlers”? Yeah, none of them work. Either they aren’t hot enough, they are way too hot, or they don’t even curl. I’ve tried pretty much every one possible, I gave up about a year ago. Waste of money. If you know of one that works, let me know! (Oh, and that nonsense about applying your mascara against a spoon? Have you heard this? It does not work.)

8. When curling your lashes, the goal is to have them curl gently upwards, basically making a pretty fringe. You do not want a bend in your lash, and they shouldn’t be sticking up as close to your lid as possible. (To the girl that works at VS at the mall down the street- stop doing this. I can’t look at you. It looks crazy, not like you have amazing lashes. Go see Amanda at Sephora, she can help you. Until then, I’m buying my unmentionables on-line.)

9. Everyone curls a little differently, and you’ll need to experiment with what works best for you. I like to curl as close to the base of my lashes as I can (without it hurting), and I kind of pulse the curler really tight about 5 times, then switch the other side. If I need to, I might repeat this again as close to the base as possible. Then I’ll repeat (yes, again) about 1/4 to 1/3 of the way out the lashes. That’s it. I don’t keep walking it out, you could seriously do this for forever.

10. While I’ve tried the next curling trick, I’ve had varied results. I know girls that swear by it. When curling near the base, pull out your hands and tip the curler a bit. You can see I’m trying to take a pic of this above, but for some reason I kept trying to peer at the camera. You get the idea. Don’t do this too close to the base, it will hurt and might pull out lashes!

Eye Liner11. What is lining doing here?? A little liner worked into the lash base can go a loooong way towards making your lashes look full. Really. Some will go to the lengths of tightlining. I think it depends on the person, but for me, this isn’t really necessary. Instead I use my liner really jammed into my lash line, and I wiggle the pencil/brush (if I’m using gel) in between the lashes. I do tightline if using a liquid, since I can’t get the pen down in between the lashes. However you do it, you want to fill in the spots between each individual eye lash. This will make your lashes look much thicker.

12. You should line your eyes after you curl your lashes. Why? The curler can smudge your hard work. Enough said.

13. Remember back when I was talking about choosing the color of your mascara, and I have pretty definitive ideas? Here’s where fun with color comes in. I’d use only brown or black to do the tightlining, deep in your lash roots, but feel free to use any color you want over that or on your lower lid.

Finally! Applying the mascara!14. Now that you finally can open up that mascara wand and apply it, you’ll need to actually pause for a second and look at the wand. Do you see a big wad of product somewhere? Is there so much glopped onto the wand that you can’t even see the bristles in a few locations? Grab a kleenex and wipe off the wand before you use it. This will make a huge difference, think Tammy Faye vs. lashes worthy of Pinterest.

15. When you are finally ready to get the wand up to your eyes, you’ll need to get it as close to the lash base as possible. Once there, slowly pull it up and wiggle a little back and forth to apply product onto your lashes. Keep going. And going.

16. Once I’ve applied a lot of my first mascara, I reach for my second right away. I don’t wait for things to dry off in between, I just go right for it. Layer it on.

17. If you get clumps, a lash comb is very handy. I’ve found that the best are metal, though it can be hard to find one that doesn’t have the bristles too close together. The best one I’ve found is this one, which is from Coastal Scents. The alternative is to go Julia Roberts and use a safety pin to do it.

18. If you have blonde lashes, it is especially important to make sure your entire lash is covered. I know someone who doesn’t start her mascara until about halfway down the lash, it looks strange. If you forget the top of the lash as well, it can look odd. I would apply the mascara to the top of the lashes first and then apply as usual, but try to ensure that every bit of lash is covered.

19. If you are using a fiber mascara (like Fiberwig) you’ll need to apply the fiber mascara first. You’ll need to apply it correctly as well. Just go and read the post at Clumps of Mascara about how to apply fiber mascara. Trust me, your lashes will thank you for it.

The Bottom Lashes20. Somehow, this is a bit of a controversial topic. Many think you should never put mascara on the lower lashes because when it smudges (which it does if you rub your eyes, pretty much no matter what formula you used), it will settle into any wrinkles, make you look tired, etc. But, putting a little mascara on those lashes really can make your eye makeup look much more complete. The key with mascara here is concentrating on the base of the lashes. I like to keep all of the mascara there, maybe about 2-3 mm out from the base, I’ll actually wipe off mascara that gets on the ends of these lashes. Since it is the end of the lashes that cause most of the issues (and mostly look spidery), this works great.

21. The easiest way to apply mascara to your lower lashes: I’ll put my mascara wand at the base of my lashes, just barely wiggle it back and forth, and that’s it. If I can’t do it for some reason, grabbing a lip brush, taking a bit of mascara of of the wand, and then using that brush seems to work better.

Take it off22. This isn’t likely something you’ve thought about much, but it is really important to remove all of that carefully applied eye makeup each night. Not only does it build up (and make you look old with the residue), but it can clog pores. You don’t want that in your eye lashes, a Chalazion is rather painful!

Grow them longer!24. A few years ago there was actually a thread on Makeup Alley about my lashes (one girl said she didn’t trust my mascara reviews because my lashes “aren’t that great”, I would that that’s someone who knows more about mascara than a girl with super long lashes already??) The truth is, even back then I was getting eye lash comments. I just get more questions about them now. Why? Because I use an eye lash conditioner and they are definitely longer and thicker.

I use an eye lash conditioner called Revitalash, which I originally got for review and have repurchased faithfully every 6 months since that time. Which means I’ve bought it… 3 times? I think? At $120 a pop, that’s quite the investment! It’s available over the counter, and it does contain a prostaglandin analogue, which is similar to the active ingredient in Latisse but isn’t the same. It is currently (as I type this, anyways) unavailable in the US due to a lawsuit by the makers of Latisse. They want Revitalash to be prescription also, so Revitalash has pulled itself from the market while that gets sorted out. Which means I need to find something else to use pronto! I’m thinking about trying out LiLash, but let me know if you have a product you like!

If you do want to go the Latisse route, make sure you do so only with a physician’s assistance and do NOT buy it online. Much of the Latisse available is through sketchy sites and isn’t real. Fake Latisse likely means lashes that don’t grow!

Refresh your lashes for night25. Getting ready to head out, and your lashes just… wilted? I definitely know the feeling! The best way to refresh them is to use a spooly brush (I found a few sample sized ones pretty cheap at a beauty supply, I’m sure you could get them off eBay), dip the spooly into either eye makeup remover or water, depending on which works best for you (I’m a water girl), and run the brush through your lashes. It will help to “reset” your current mascara! I also like to grab a mascara with plastic bristles (my favorite LashBlast Fusion works great for this), and apply a little extra mascara on top. Good as new!

I love these posts and I do the same thing with the refresher on mascara, except I just set a business card behind my lashes and brush it out a bit with the clean disposable brushes and then a layer of my regular topper mascara on top. I have to try that hard candy make up remover, I've been faithfully using my Ponds Cold Cream, but it's starting to not work so well on the Covergirl 24 HR lashblast. I swear, that stuff is bulletproof.

@Deni- Thanks! It has a similar active ingredient so I was pretty sure I'd be using that one. That's all the endorsement I need! I'll get that one 😀

@Christina- Thanks for the tip! And yes, that 24 HR LashBlast is pretty hard to get off. I can't get it off with the Hard Candy, I do better with the Boots for that one, it seems to respond well to the oil and the Hard Candy is more of a lotion.

I'd probably try to (VERY CAREFULLY) heat up my curler with a very short burst of heat, and then I'd use a curling mascara first. My favorite is the Stila Forever Your Curl, which I turned to a lot recently when for some reason my lashes decided to never curl. I just realized that I haven't reviewed it, I'll need to do so!

to anonymous – i have very long downward facing eyelashes. i cannot go without curling my lashes ever. i tried a lash perm, which was great until they started growing out and some were straight and some were still curled. nightmare.

i have found the only way to get a wide open eye for the entire day is to use a very dry fiber based waterproof mascara after curling my eyelashes with the shu uemura curler. i have tried every curler on the market – shu is the only one that works. heat it up, and voila, a good curl.

if you use non waterproof mascara the formula is too wet and the lashes get damp and fall. even most drugstore waterproof mascaras make my eyelashes fall. the best dry fiber mascaras are from japan. the company who makes the best ones is SANA. you can get them on ebay. they are a bitch to remove, but your eyelashes will survive a tornado.

happy lashes! this is what works for me. and that spoon think is reallllly stupid. have no idea who thought up that shit.

@ Vanessa- Thanks for your helpful comment! I'm going to order some of that mascara too!

@Magstermash- I really don't have any trouble removing it, though I'm using the Boots remover for almost everything now. It's more oily than some of the other mass market removers and has been really great. The other option is to just use baby oil and then wash that off. I haven't tried it, but I know some people do it to get really hard to remove makeup off.

Wow, awesome article thanks for the great tips! 🙂 Is it better to apply mascara on the bottom lashes using a thin brush rather than a thick one? And also, How can you prevent your lashes from getting stuck together once you put lots of coatings on? Thanks! 🙂

Thanks for the great tips! I'm going to try the SANA. I've also bookmarked so I can reference again. I use olive oil to remove waterproof makeup. I love Bifacil, but olive oil is less expensive and works so well! My sister swears by jojoba oil.

@Liz- Something must have changed with the lawsuits, because when I looked 2 days ago at Drugstore.com they still said "not available", so this is great news! I have a ton of mascaras that I like, in general anything by L'Oreal, CoverGirl and Maybelline is good, I have a much harder time with department store brands.

Such detail! This is a fantastic post! Until you can find a replacement for the Revitalash, I suggest Vaseline at night. My mom used Latisse for some time and when she switched off of it, her derm recommended Vaseline to slow down the withdrawal process. It worked great! I use it at night as well because I'm currently on Accutane and found my lashes were suffering.

For once an 'ultimate guide' which really IS an ULTIMATE guide. Mascara has been something I found really difficult and I've actually bumbled my way into most of your tips here, but it was over a period of…four years? Five? Either way, I envy your readers who've come here knowing squat all and get to just harvest all your experience. Superb resource.

One question about layering; do you have any rules as to what sort of mascara goes on first and on top? Intellectually it seems to me that the first layer should be lengthening, then the second volumising. Why can't a fibre mascara go on first?

My method is to use something that seriously holds curl as the first layer, (either this incredible Japanese mascara or Chanel Inimitable which actually both look great on their own and last quite well – NOTHING else I have tried keep the lashes looking freshly curled), and then the L'Oreal Volume Million Lashes on top, since it's the first mascara that never smudges on me even after a massive boozy night out. I think the L'Oreal is a tube mascara. That honestly gives me the most perfect lashes… although sadly nobody has ever actually commented, let alone come up to me while grocery shopping. Whatevs. *I* think it looks great.

@CeCe- How have you gotten that thng to work?? That's the one I bought years ago (and actually threw away a few months ago), but couldn't ever get it to do anything.

Anon- Thanks for all of your nice comments! I tend to do lengthening over volumizing, though sometimes if my lashes are long then, I do avoid any lengthening because my lashes will smudge the inside of my glasses! I've used fiber mascaras first and that works well, though it's definitely more prone to clumping. I just don't layer any tube mascara as they become major clump issues or impossible to remove. Also, LOL, I"m sure it looks great! I for some reason have some strange aura that people will talk to me about beauty products. Strangers comment on my eye shadow, mascara, ask me where to get my lipstick. I'm the girl at Target that gets asked by a stranger about what base coat to use and then has a 10 minute monologue about it. I'm not sure what it is about me that says "Please, come and ask me about beauty products!" 😀

I used to use revitalash too but too expensive ! Try rapidlash it's more than half the price and works!!And u should try loreal false fibers first layer then maybeline falsies for top layer! Works for me! And I'm Asian so I know what it's like to deal with short invisible lashes!

@ Anon- I think you must be right. It's kind of like how little kids will constantly come up and want to talk to me. I swear they flock to me, and then moms get nervous until I explain it's just a thing that happens and I'm a mommy and pediatrician. 😀 Thanks for your nice comments about my site! I put sooo much work into it.

@Miso- I actually used Rapid Lash before Revitalash and it worked ok, but the Revitalash is so much better for me that it's hard to go back. I don't make much with the ads on this site, but it pretty much pays for my indie makeup addiction and Revitalash. 😀 I have both of the mascaras you mentioned but haven't tried that exact combo. I'm doing a CoverGirl trial this week, I'll try that out next week!

I doubt they are as good as Revitalash and the other more expensive brands, but Physician's Formula has a liquid liner (*and* clear serum) that helps grow lashes. Same for Revlon. I've been using them both for many months and while my lashes couldn't be confused for fakes, they are as thick as they can be naturally, and do seem to fall out less – which always led me to a patchy, sparse look. I even used them to grow a section of eyebrow back that was mangle in a haircutting accident (don't ask). Not only did it grow that patch back, but I used the clear Physician's Formula serum to thicken patchier areas on my other eyebrow. There are absolutely new hairs. My brows look amazing. Which is especially nice as they seemed to be thinning out the past couple of years and needed (no longer) filling in places.

Drugstores often run really good sales (like CVS this week giving you "Extra bucks" back with a PF purchase.) so you can always try them out inexpensively. I didn't find they worked quickly, but with continued use over a month or two there is definitely a difference.

I am also obsessed with my eye lashes and very much enjoyed reading ur post. I also always get comments about how great mine look how I do it what I use and if they are fake. I use three different mascaras a day. After I had my daughter my lashes started falling out or breaking, so I too have done my research and trial and error with different brands and brushes. They have become extremely thin and it drives me crazy! They are very long though just need to find something to make them Fuller. I tried th's Lilash and I loved it! It worked amazingly well!! I recently ordered some lash conditioner off of JANE IREDALE. Her make up it amazing! It work for length but they are still falling out so I am going to try and find the Lilash stuff again. If you know of any other tricks to get them to stop falling out I'd greatly appreciate the input! I wash my make up off every night and make sure I get it all because I have sensitive skin. I separate my eyelashes with tweezers and little scissors to make them look Fuller but it's very time consuming..

Hi Ashley!I've heard really good things about LiLash, though I haven't tried it myself. My lashes did this a little bit too after my daughter, it's just a hormonal thing and will correct itself with time.

I've heard Latisse and other lash conditioning products can turn blue eyes brown, so I've been afraid to use them since I love my blue eyes! I know you already have brown eyes, but what is your experience? Have you heard of this before?

I like to heat my curler under the hot water in the sink- it gets warm enough to set the curl without endangering your lids. Also, this might sound weird, but the best lash detangler I've used was a plastic baby comb- the double-sided kind. I have thick lashes that actually cross over each other so I get clumps a LOT, and this has helped so much. Finally, for my lower lashes, you can make them black without clumps by brushing a waterproof black pencil liner across them. No clumps, and if it smudges it's easier to fix than mascara. 🙂

Another great way to remove eye makeup that is really inexpensive is with baby oil. Just put some on a cotton pad and let it sit on the lashes for about 10 seconds, then wipe it off. Works better than any other products I've used 🙂

I keep coming back to this post! You having me wearing eyeliner more regularly and using 2 mascaras almost every day. I've been applying eyeliner and THEN curling because the curl seems to go away so fast. If I slap mascara on right away I have a chance of keeping the curl. Unfortunately this means I wreck my eyeliner with the curler! So this means I have hard to curl lashes and should heat up my curler?

Also I am going to give generic Latisse a try – yippee for moving to a state where CRNAs have prescriptive authority. 🙂 I have eyes the same color as yours so no worries about the iris darkening.

I have somewhat bulgy and really long eyes. My problem with eyelash curlers is that they seem to be too short to fit all my lashes in at the same time. I've tried curling the outer corner first and then the inner (or vise-versa), but they don't blend in the center, and I always give up. I've looked online for wider curlers with no luck. Do you know how to solve this problem?

I've heard it helps get any hard to reach areas. I'd start on either end with this and then do the center with a regular curler, then any "blending" is at the ends and if it isn't perfect there it would be less obvious.

Hi ladies, I have to curl my eyelashes every time I wear mascara. I appreciate the blow dryer idea. Have never tried that before. Many mascaras pull my lashes down after curling them. I have found if the first ingredient is water (Aqua) I do not buy it. I purchase a waterproof mascara that does not have the first or second ingredient listed as water. I used a Loreal product for years but now is discontinued. I recently found a Covergirl waterproof mascara that works great. A little tough to get off, but worth it. The ingredients and the brush make a difference. Hope this helps someone.

Hi, I found your blog looking for false eyelashes and read this entire post through. Of course I do't want to wear falsies every day but for special occasions I like the ones made of paper or feathers. You have so many excellent tips here and I have one for you. The best eyelash brush I have ever ever found is a lice comb. My daughters had lice in their school and everyone had to be treated and combed so I had a few of these lying around. I used a metal one for a while but switched to a plastic one that has very close together teeth on one side and regular teeth on the other. Longer than a normal lashbrush and pointier teeth mean that you can get the comb through at the base and pull through any clumps. Voila!

Absolutely love your article! Love the tip on the metal comb and bottom lashes, those were my favorites! I would love to send you a product that I started using a little over two months ago! It instantly and totally intensifies, lengthens lashes beyond you any product I have ever seen and washes off! I know this may sound over exaggerated, I promise you it is not! So much, I want to send it to you FREE to you! Respectfully, Pamela Lee 3D Lashes

Great content on Mascaras and use. I am interested in Serums to grow lashes as mine as thinning out, I believe, due to wearing false eyelashes. One of my eyelashes has less lashes and it's frustrating and embarrassing to me. I was reading another site that said Cod-liver oil is good for growing hair and eyelashes as well as botoin. I just read this two days ago so I haven't went to the drug store yet. I am wiling to try natural. Hopefully the end result will be long thick eyelashes.

What a fantastic articles and great comments! I will try all!! Could anyone tell me what mascaras to use for the first and second layer please – I definitely need waterproof and even then it gets under my eyes…..suggestions?

Great post! I loved your tip about wiping the mascara wand with a tissue if there are clumps in it. I have done this for years! Recently, however, it dawned on me how much mascara is going to waste!. With that in mind, I now get as much excess as I can off by swiping it across the opening of the container before using the tissue technique. Wayyy less waste. After applying my mascara I run the brush along the opening to recollect what I swiped off and then back in the container it goes 🙂 IMO this saves a little bit of $$$. Great article!

LiLash is THE best!! I mean the best for growing long thick lashes that naturally curl just a bit. It has been taken off the market also thanks to Lastisse. My lashes look ten times better than my friends who use Lastisse and I only pay $120 every 6 months instead of $120 every month. I'm going to try getting it from ebay international, its so worth it!